This is false. After the authorization-related firmware changes last year LAN mode doesn't allow 3rd party slicers to connect.
LAN mode is also abandonware with numerous issues and missing features that they've had no interest in fixing. Orca slicer has had to rely on hacky workarounds in Bambu's buggy networking plugin just to be able to connect to printers in a different subnet.
https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudio/issues/4512
> I don't understand why any software other than their own should be entitled to use those resources
That's not a genuine argument, nobody "feels entitled" to anything. Bambu made a deliberate choice to architect the product this way, deliberately placed themselves in this gatekeeping position, and they're deliberately working towards removing any other form of access to our hardware.
> they're deliberately working towards removing any other form of access to our hardware
Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think that's what is happening. They aren't doing anything to block OrcaSlicer or any fork from working with the printer using LAN-only mode. It's only if you want to use Bambu Lab's servers for essentially a remote-access solution (which, by the way, kind of defeats the privacy-oriented purpose of running some of these forks) that they're saying you should use their own software.
Thought experiment: the core of macOS (Darwin) is open source. Does that mean everyone running Darwin or a fork of it should be able to use iCloud services for free?
All this outrage essentially sounds like "since Bambu Lab's slicer is open-source, the open-source community should be able to point any slicer at Bambu Lab's servers to get free remote monitoring services". And I don't think that's right.
> They aren't doing anything to block OrcaSlicer or any fork from working with the printer using LAN-only mode.
They did. Since the first update in early 2025 LAN-only mode isn't enough to use 3rd party software anymore. Eventually they (partially) caved to the extensive backlash and added "developer mode" which completely exposes your printer by removing existing access controls, coercing users into either giving up control, or giving up basic security in order to maintain full control of our printers.
It sounds like they're doing what people want. People seem to be ascribing a lot of mal-intent to actions that don't seem malicious to me.
> completely exposes your printer by removing existing access controls
If these printers are in LAN-only mode and you want to point 3rd-party software at them, don't you kind of expect the existing access controls (which are probably at least in part tied to cloud services) to be removed? Behind a LAN with developer mode on, you're generally going to (1) not be exposed to the internet anyway, and (2) probably know what you're doing and would be implementing access controls yourself anyway.
If you want a completely open (hardware and software) 3D printer, don't get a Bambu Lab machine I guess? A big part of the value of their printers is that they've managed to make everything so seamless. Some of that relies on a somewhat closed ecosystem. They're the Apple of 3D printers, but everyone keeps expecting them to be the Linux, just because their slicer (or parts of it anyway) is open-source. If openness is more important to you than those conveniences, go with a different brand. It's a good thing we have choices as consumers :)
> don't you kind of expect the existing access controls (which are probably at least in part tied to cloud services) to be removed
No, and it's absurd that you would suggest that on a technical forum in 2026, and no, they're not tied to cloud services in any way. Do you also grant root access to anyone on your LAN, by default and without credentials?
> If you want a completely open (hardware and software) 3D printer, don't get a Bambu Lab machine I guess? [and the rest]
My mistake, I didn't realize you were just here to engage in bad faith bullshit and peddle the company's PR statements from last year. These changes are happening after we already bought our printers.
I love my X1C. It's way ahead of any other 3D printer I've owned or built. I stuck it in a VLAN from day 1. Have had it in LAN-only mode for years. Works great. I haven't followed the company's PR statements, but seems a little strange that they would tell people not to get a Bambu Lab printer for any reason.
I'm sorry your experience has been so terrible or that you thought you were buying an open-ecosystem printer. I never got that impression, so I never expected it.
And in 2026, I wouldn't trust access controls on their own even if Bambu Lab did keep them enabled in this situation (who's to say they don't include a back door of their own?). I prefer security at the network level, enforcing access controls before any untrusted hosts can even see a machine that I want to protect on the network.
We've strayed so far off topic. Try to get a handle on your fanboyism and you might be able to see this discussion more rationally.
Why do you feel the need to justify your purchase in public and talk about how great the printer is? Bambu make good printers and nobody is disputing that.
And for the record, my own experience hasn't been terrible at all, it's been predominantly positive.
However that doesn't change the fact that their overall dishonest corporate behavior, pushing unjustified user-hostile changes after the sale, violating the AGPL license of Prusa slicer, and legally bullying independent developers is immoral, illegal, and generally indefensible. Nobody wants to live in a world where this sort of behavior is normalized.
Furthermore "LAN only mode" has been neglected and generally half-broken for years. It was a hobbled alternative before they broke it even further.
You do you, but the world has moved on since the 90s. Communication is expected to be end to end encrypted, credentials should be revocable, and you generally don't want to grant every process on your device unrestricted ability to set your house on fire.
Disgracefully, this is being done in the name of "security".
> I don't see how one company is entitled to turn an open source project into business and the other is not.
According to the original license they are both entitled to do that, that's the problem. Do you think it's sustainable for one company to make the software for free and another one to sell it for profit?
They both sell it for profit, but Amazon doesn’t contribute changes upstream, so the public + rest of the industry won’t benefit from their work. It’s not an equivalence.
Are you sure that's the case with AGPL? Cause they can sue them and enforce the contribution. I doubt that's the case. And those who went with MIT/BSD openly allow distribution without contribution.
Why isn't this a problem for other databases then? I'm sure most cloud sell some MariaDB services. Why would they be able to profit from it?
It's because the business model for ES is direct competition with AWS and others, and they got out competed. So they had to play licenses games to try and level the field.
> Why isn't this a problem for other databases then?
It is?
- MongoDB went from AGPL to SSPL
- Redis went from BSD to SSPL
- Elasticsearch went from AGPL to SSPL
- CockroachDB went from Apache to BSL
- TimescaleDB went from Apache to Apache + TLS
- Graylog went from GPL to SSPL
> It's because the business model for ES is direct competition with AWS and others, and they got out competed. So they had to play licenses games to try and level the field.
That's why intellectual property law exist. If I spent years writing a book and you were allowed to copy it and sell it then obviously you're going to "out compete" me by default. You didn't incur any costs in producing the thing you're selling, duh!
Yes and the result is these databases got forked, and the community got rightfully mad.
But other databases don't need it, and stayed truly open source, because their business model doesn't rely on being the only hosting provider.
> You didn't incur any costs in producing the thing you're selling, duh!
Indeed, you gave it away for free, saying I could sell it... It doesn't take a business genius to know AWS can undercut your hosting services.
It goes to show that most of these companies don't really care about open source. They cared more about making money and open source was a useful facade to get people to contribute for free.
Who's pretending? If I share something with everyone for any purpose except one specific purpose that's endangering my project's existence that's not "pretending".
And even that's overstating it because there's no prohibition of any kind. Cloud providers are free to use SSPL licensed software as long as they release all associated platform code.
FWIW that's also how I interpret it. That said, it doesn't bother me because it's YT not HN. They're very different environments. As long as the ensuing discussion here exhibits a reasonable approximation of proper discourse then all is well I figure.
90% of his content is about advocating for consumer rights like ownership and repair, most of which is documented and sourced on his wiki [1]. If the only thing you see here is "drama and outrage" then you're not the target audience and you should return to mindless consumption until such a time that you find yourself affected.
When you care so little about consumer rights that you see advocacy as just "drama" then what are you if not a mindless consumer, in the most literal sense?
This story is at the heart of everything that's wrong with consumer rights these days - digital locks, coercive upgrades, removing features after the sale, AGPL violations, and legal bullying of independent developers, enthusiasts, and hackers.
The original title was needlessly inflammatory, Louis put up $10,000 to cover this person's legal fees should they fight Bambu's bullshit threats. It's in all of our interests to fight this, as consumers and as members of HACKER news.
They never said they don't care about consumer right, but that your over the top comments and ad hominem attacks smell more of drama than of consumer rights. I hope I never produce the words "return to mindless consuming" just because someone dared to criticize my idol. Ditto for "when you care so little about consumer rights". Pretentiousness is not a virtue.
dns_snek never said any specific person as a mindless consumer. They argued that if you see nothing but drama then that implies you are a mindless consumer.
The argument is that a mindful consumer would see that Louis Rossman is, in his way, arguing for consumer rights.
> They never said they don't care about consumer right
They didn't need to. Describing it as "just" drama means that you find the subject matter performative and unwarranted, that's what makes something "just drama".
> I hope I never produce the words "return to mindless consuming" just because someone dared to criticize my idol
I invoked "mindless consumption" because of how ridiculously dismissive they were acting towards the discussion about consumer rights, i.e. mindful consumption.
Criticize him all you want, but don't get upset when someone calls you out for criticizing a baseless straw man.
It would be difficult to judge me as being upset because of your criticism since I've never responded to your criticism before.
And for not needing to say it: actually yes it is needed. Nobody said consumer rights are performative, it was said that Rossmann is performative and trying to generate drama and clicks. Even if not true, it's a valid opinion that doesn't make anyone a mindless consumer, quite the opposite. But regardless, those are not the same things, unless you see Rossmann (and possibly yourself) as the gatekeeper of this issue.
It may be advocacy for a noble cause, but it is still drama and outrage. It is an effective technique used by politicians worldwide. If it works, I guess that's a positive, but that's not for me.
Lois Rossmann has always been ranting in his video, but originally he did so while repairing Macbooks. I actually learned a few tricks watching his videos. Now, he is just sitting down talking, adding drama and outrage to news stories relevant to what he advocates for.
I mean, we need people like him, like we need people like Richard Stallman, but I personally prefer more nuanced approaches.
Your off-topic remarks about Bambu printers and their replacement parts tell me that you didn't even take the time to read what this story was about. In the same breath you're accusing Louis of "manufacturing outrage just to have something to complain about" while you're the one doing that.
What's the point of this pedantry? Replace "monopoly" with "dominant market player" and their point still stands. A company doesn't need to be a literal monopoly to engage in anti-competitive behavior. The EU would call this "abuse of dominance". [1]
>> Google holds absolute authority on how websites are rendered and if websites can be found.
This is still 100% correct. Google owns the dominant browser and the dominant search engine, this means that they get to dictate how websites function and pick winners and losers through their search algorithm. If you're a publisher (i.e. anyone who hosts a website) you're forced to fall in line or go out of business.
> If you're a publisher (i.e. anyone who hosts a website) you're forced to fall in line or go out of business.
What features of Chrome are website publishers forced to fall in line with or go out of business that practically other browser makers aren't also pushing?
I'm afraid it's far less enticing. The usual offer is "To continue playing, pay $0.99 or hit AGREE to share your internet connection with Legit Services Inc."
And that's assuming they're nice enough to ask at all.
LAN mode is also abandonware with numerous issues and missing features that they've had no interest in fixing. Orca slicer has had to rely on hacky workarounds in Bambu's buggy networking plugin just to be able to connect to printers in a different subnet. https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudio/issues/4512
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